Things are not looking good for the Chicago Red Stars right now. In a game where both teams seemed to be struggling, the Red Stars entered with what could only be described as their B-Team and found an OL Reign team that was ready to stop struggling. Let’s take a look at what happened.
OL Reign dominated the first half, holding not only the most possession, but the higher passing accuracy and holding the Red Stars without a chance. The game started and ended in less than a minute when Shirley Cruz collected a ball bouncing to the edge of the box, smashing home the volley straight through Alyssa Naeher’s hand. In the 18th minute, Sophia Huerta found Bethany Balcer running into the box from a long ways away. The cross would be easily headed straight to the back of the net, with little resistance from the Red Stars defense.
In the second half the Chicago Red Stars started to get a bit more aggressive, but the game still felt dominated by the Reign. In the 61st minute, Megan Rapinoe dropped a free ball into the center of the box and after a solid few seconds of sitting around the penalty spot, Huerta’s shot was saved by Naeher. The Red Stars’ best chance came in the 78th minute when a misplayed header from a Reign defender gave Katie Johnson the ball with only the keeper to beat, but that keeper was Sarah Bouhaddi who easily stopped it. OL Reign didn’t stop their press late into the game, with Naeher being called to action in the 85th against Rapinoe, in the 86th against Eugénie Le Sommer, and the 88th against Jess Fishlock. In the end, after a red card to Bianca St Georges on a second yellow in the 92nd minute, the 2-0 score would be made final.
Here are three things we’ve learned from this defeat:
So THAT’S Why!
For a while, I was questioning why Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames wasn’t going to his bench sooner in games. This game may have proven why, with a squad made up of mostly depth players failing to hold their own. Due to the team’s workload, it’s understandable that changes need to be made in order to keep everyone fresh and limit possible injuries. But the Red Stars don’t have the same expectations as other teams in the NWSL.
The Red Stars have historically had one of the best benches in the league, with other teams’ starters being traded to Chicago to sit on the bench and bench-warmers dominating after joining other teams. To see the quality of depth drop so much in such a short time is incredibly disheartening.
It continues the narrative that the rest of the league has passed the Red Stars.
Swap After The Game?
After a couple of amazing plays in the first half, I began wondering if the Chicago Red Stars could make a quick trade with OL Reign at the half. Tierna Davidson for Bethany Balcer would be a solid trade for both teams, with maybe a couple of draft or allocation money incentives to even it out. Tierna is a national team player, but her value to the Red Stars is actually a bit lower than her perceived value to the rest of the league, especially when Julie Ertz comes back from injury. And for Balcer’s part, she’s a solid starting striker for any team in the league except for the Reign, who are now building a massive arsenal of attackers through loans from their parent club OL.
I’m mentioning this thought process because the Red Stars need to do something. It’s getting too late into the NWSL season and the European offseason to really get a player who can make an immediate enough impact to bring this team back up to where they should be. If they cannot close the deal outside of the NWSL, then they need to look within the NWSL to make a deal and do something.
Wrong Team at the Wrong Time
If anything, the most disappointing thing about this Chicago Red Stars season is that they just keep finding teams in need of energy. And, unfortunately, the Red Stars are the ones who are giving those teams energy. Whether it was the Portland Thorns proving their dominance, the Houston Dash legitimizing their contention for another championship, the Washington Spirit showing off their amazing potential, or OL Reign establishing themselves as a new powerhouse within the league.
The only team that hasn’t felt energized by Chicago Red Stars games has been the Red Stars, who’ve come off of both their wins this season with fairly pedestrian performances. Maybe it’s bad luck, maybe the culture of this club has just gotten stale.